81. Chapter 81
81
Graysen
B irds burst into the sky and tiny critters scattered as I surged through the forest, following the rugged cut of the river, its seething waters flowing through the ravine between mountains. The first rays of sunshine glittered against dewy leaves and I breathed in the pungent scent of the pine needle carpet as I plunged between trees at a reckless speed. It felt fucking glorious, shooting through the undergrowth, power winding around my bones to push me faster, faster, faster. I was a howling winter wind sweeping through the knotted forest.
I found Draxxon’s sword under a leafy shrub where a chunk of the mountain had given way beneath Nelle’s feet yesterday. The sword had landed there after a blow knocked it from her grip. Footprints scuffed the muddy earth, hollowing it where my body hit the ground.
An icy breath slithered down my spine.
How the hells did I survive that fall?
Fuck knows how. My mother’s blood gift, yeah, to some extent, but it had been wishful thinking that I might survive when I’d hurled myself off to save Nelle. Now there was something different coursing through my veins. And that ancient wild and wicked strain that had sung to me while I battled my way to Nelle was the barest whisper at the back of my mind.
Kneeling at the edge of the river where it ran shallow, I washed away the blood crusting the wyrmbone and wiped the blade dry against my adamere pants before sliding the sword into the leather sheath strapped down my spine.
The first thing I needed to do was head up the mountainside to where I’d fought Danne’s soldiers and find out if mortals had come across the wreckage. It was probably futile to even bother—a pointless exercise. It was a long shot that the carnage would remain undiscovered. The mountain road was remote, but by now, surely someone would have encountered it. However, on the off-chance they hadn’t—and I was praying to Zrenyth they hadn’t—I needed to clean up the mess. The discovery of this would be a nightmare for the Houses to deal with, particularly given the ancient weapons and cursed bolts strewn upon the battlefield. All of this would expose our society to the mortal world.
As I climbed the cliff, using flax and stunted shrubs to haul myself up, my thoughts turned once more to Nelle. I’d left her in the cottage sleeping. I didn’t like the idea of leaving her there alone. However, I knew she could take care of herself. She was a warrior, full of fire and fury. I was more worried that a nightmare would ensnare her and I wouldn’t be there to wake her and offer comfort.
What am I going to do?
The question had been hounding me while I’d run through the forest.
She was mine.
And I—
I can’t stay away.
My chest filled with a freezing bite of sleet, and the wretched feeling overwhelmed my senses… What my family wanted to do with her, to her... What they expected of me…
Her family had kept her confined too long on their estate, and my family was about to shackle her freedom once more.
What did she deserve?
Freedom.
And that was my answer.
Clambering up and over the edge of the cliff, I rose to stalk across the uneven ground and shoulder my way through a thicket. I’d find one of Danne’s cars that had survived the skirmish and drive Nelle as far as I could. Let her go and allow her to discover a place that no one knew about on her own. A place neither the Horned Gods nor my House could find her. Leave her…and let her live freely.
Can I do that?
I’d tracked her down and found her, even when Danne had done his best to keep her hidden behind his Cloakers. Those threads of power that bound us together had proven there was nowhere she could go that I wouldn’t find her.
I have to stay away. I have to.
Leaves and twigs crunched underfoot, and I ducked under a low-hanging bough as I broke through the forest’s treeline. My boots crushed wild grass beneath their soles as I made my way up the slight incline to the roadside, and came to a slow halt.
I blinked, not quite sure what to make of what I was seeing.
There should have been a wreckage of vehicles, bodies strewn across the road and slumped down the slope of the mountain. At worst, the area should be taped off, with cops crawling all over the scene. However, all of it was gone. The roadside was wiped clean, as if the battle had never taken place. Apart from one person standing in the middle of the road.
My stomach fell away to see her.
My gaze slipped over her shoulder and landed on my Mustang, and a second car parked further back. Kenton leaned his hip against the matte-black metal and Caidan sat on the hood, his hands clasped between his thighs. Both of them watched, expectant.
If it had been anyone else standing there in the middle of the road, my father, even my aunt, I wouldn’t have been swayed. But it wasn’t.
It was my sister.
Ferne heard my approach, cocked her head, and shifted her body to fully face me. She didn’t smile. She extended a hand upward and there was something cradled in the flat of her palm that looked like a dew drop made from amber. Her lips parted and the name spiraled from her mouth on a whisper. One single word that decided Nelle’s fate.
“Tabitha.”
It was a thunderous boom of a taiko drum.
A choice.
Always a choice I needed to make.
One that consumed my heart with bitter-black flames and rendered it to nothing but cinder and ash.
My family or Nelle.
Tabitha or Nelle.
My mother hadn’t been killed by the Horned Gods. She’d been stolen.
And Nelle was the key to finding her.